Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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WOMEN'S BASKETBALL performance did not drop them from their No. 3 perch. TURNER'S RETURN CRUCIAL Without Turner and Reimer, McGraw effectively employed "small ball" with a four-guard/wing look in her Prince- ton-style motion offense. The Irish lead the nation in three- point shooting at 46.5 percent (72 of 155). Over the last three games they were 13 of 20 (65.0) at UConn, 11 of 20 (55.0) versus DePaul and 8 of 18 at TCU (44.4) — but it can get tough to make a basketball living relying too much on treys. Without Turner 's low-post pres- ence, the Irish still have a half-dozen McDonald's All-Americans on the roster, plus leading scorer Madison Cable, and probably could remain a top-10 program, but reaching a sixth straight Final Four might be a stretch. The two other "bigs" on the team are 6-4 junior Kristina "Coco" Nelson and 6-5 junior Diamond Thompson. Nelson sat out last season because of shoulder surgery and is primarily a half-court player. She is strong down low, but is not acclimated to long stretches of ac- tion and has played only 69 minutes this season, picking up 18 fouls, includ- ing three in five minutes at TCU. Thompson arrived as a project that could potentially help in limited stretches as well. She saw minimal ac- tion through her first two years and in 10 games this year, totaling 28 minutes, and sat out the two contests prior to the break while battling an illness. With or without Turner, and now definitely without Reimer, it remains a proud program that knows how to cultivate a winning formula. ✦ Three-Point Play 1. Cable Service — Fifth-year senior wing Madison Cable has raised her game to All-America level while pacing the team in scoring with 16.9 points per game. Among Power Five conference players, she leads the nation in three-point shooting at 54.7 percent (29 of 53), with no one else shooting better than 51.2 percent. The MVP of the Junkanoo Jam had 22 points and nine boards against UCLA, tallied a career-high 25 points with 11 rebounds against Ohio State, and scored 21 points with 10 caroms versus DePaul. She also scored 17 at UConn. 2. Instant Impact — Freshman guards Marina Mabrey and Arike Ogunbowale are averaging 13.0 and 11.7 points per game, respectively. Mabrey has an all-around game while shooting 59.0 percent from the floor. Ogunbowale, who at times has forced shots, is ultra-aggressive in her drives and, as Muffet McGraw predicted in the preseason, easily leads the team in free throw attempts with 50 (Mabrey is second with 36). 3. Mychal Johnson Emerging — The sophomore guard was slowed by knee problems part of last year and this preseason, but played a career-high 28 minutes while providing strong work on both ends of the floor in the shootout versus DePaul. She finished with 12 points, converting all four of her field goals (including a three), had two steals and only one turnover. Her quickness and defensive pressure is why she played the bulk of the fourth quarter instead of freshman Ogunbowale. She adds another vital presence to the Irish depth. — Lou Somogyi